Hi, I recently purchased an 0-6-0 in order to modify it as shown by Chickenhawk and skipgear's threads. No problem detailing the shell or wiring the motor and power pickups. When I reassemble the components however, it binds the gears every time. I have done the reassembly 8 times, carefully following the exploded diagram to no avail. Tension adjustments to the screws tried without improvement. Wiring is not binding motor or other components, motor runs well when drive wheel assembly is not installed. I have checked the gears for free running and the drive wheel assembly does not bind when not installed. On a couple occasions it ran an inch or two then bound up. Suggestions please? Anyone wanting to make a quick $20 reassembling this loco is in luck. This is somewhat embarrassing since this is such a simple (appearing) mechanism.
Possibly a spacer is missing between the gear/wheel assembly and the frame (motor mount) that causes the pinion gear to jam the worm gear? Possibly a spacer is missing or improperly installed under the motor which would cause the same symptom. Another possibility is that one or both of the crosshead piston rods is not seated into the holes in the steam chest causing the rods to jam against the casting. Though your saying that the mechanism operates freely when not attached to the motor might preclude that condition.
I also suspect driver quartering but is this one of the older versions since cracked gears can cause a problem. The gears that the drivers sleeve into are the main culprits with this. I had one a long while ago with the issue so bad that it allowed the drivers to come out of quarter and actually bent the drive rod.
This is a fairly recent issue with the black plastic gearing. If there are any spacers other than the insulators that hold the frame together I haven't seen them. In reference to quartering, what do I look for?
If this is a newer version with the black plastic gears it is impossible to quarter it incorrectly because the center drive wheel is driven only by the gears and is not connected to the rods and the front drive wheel is not geared and is driven only by the rods from the rear drive wheel. I suspect you have the eccentric rod incorrectly positioned. I tried to insert pictures of correctly positioned eccentric rods, but I can't get the pictures to load. If you will repost the thread on nscale.net I will post pictures. Never mind, I figured out how to upload the pictures. As shown rotate the driver wheels until the rod holes are at the 6 o'clock position on the right side of the engine. The eccentric rod should be straight up. On the left side the eccentric rod should be straight back at the 3 o'clock position. Please let me know if this fixes the problem. Have fun, Mark
Well still no luck, but I have noticed two things that may bear on the problem. When closely examined, the pillow block behind the worm gear seems to be bored off center. Which way does the "fat" part of the block go, up or down? Also when I reviewed pictures I took on disassembly that there is only one pillow block present rather than the two shown in the exploded schematic. A change by the manufacturer or an error? Thirdly I seem to have lost the screw and plastic nut which hold the frame halves together in the front. Does anyone have a spare(s) in their parts bin? Thanks for all the suggestions so far!
My pillow block may have been off center just a hair too. Try rotating it so the hole is closest to the boiler top. It may be binding if its closer to the frame. You tried pushing the frame without the motor installed ? ......Mike
There need to be two plastic bearing blocks, one before the worm gear - that one is impossible to loose, and one after the worm gear. Both of these bearing blocks are not square, they go in place with the long side aligned with the frame - long side up and down, and the hole closer to the bottom of the engine. I put a little bit of red paint on the top of these bearing blocks so I can insure the paint side is up. If you put them in place incorrectly the worm gear will bind. Mike, the hole needs to be closer to the bottom not the top - I've got one disassembled on my workbench right now. TVRR, you may be able to get the parts from Bachmann, give them a call. If not, there are a few new B-mann 0-6-0's for sale from the favorite spot on eBay now - you may be able to pick one up cheap. Have fun, Mark
I figured they would bind if they were off, I had a 50% chance anyway..LOL Its been a while since I took mine apart to DCC it......Mike
